Ezel / IRS Rulings / 200942042

CCA 200942042: Draft statute job aid withheld under FOIA exemptions

Number
200942042
Outcome
Advice
Document type
Chief Counsel Advice
IRS subject
Confidentiality and Disclosure of Returns and Return Information
Topics
Procedure, penalties, and administration
Code sections
§ 6103, § 6110
Ruling dated
June 19, 2009
Publicly released
October 16, 2009
Source
View Official PDF

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This page covers legal advice the IRS Office of Chief Counsel wrote for IRS staff, issued in 2009, which can't be cited as precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current Code and IRS guidance say, with citations.

Currency note: this determination was released in 2009
Statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later IRS guidance may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or position mentioned here.
Not precedent. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3), this written determination may not be used or cited as precedent. It is advice from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to IRS personnel on the facts they presented, and identifying details were redacted by the IRS before release. The official IRS release (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source.
About this page: The plain-English summary and ruling snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official IRS release. The full text is the IRS's own document.
View official IRS release (PDF)

Plain-English summary

This Chief Counsel Advice addresses a FOIA request for a draft statute job aid concerning an unreleased request. It states that the draft had not been reviewed by counsel and was exempt from disclosure under FOIA exemption (b)(5). It also advises that disclosure would impair federal tax administration because the IRS had not agreed that the advice was correct, so the document should be withheld under FOIA exemption (b)(3) in conjunction with IRC § 6103(e)(7).

Ruling snapshot

  • Question: May a draft, counsel-unreviewed statute job aid be withheld from disclosure under FOIA?
  • Outcome: Advice given
  • Key authorities: FOIA exemptions (b)(3) and (b)(5); IRC § 6103(e)(7)

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA-619852-09 Number: 200942042
Release Date: 10/16/2009
Office: --------------
UILC: 6103.00-00

From: -------------------
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 8:52 AM
To: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: RE: FOIA 2327

--------

The statute job aid is a draft document of an unreleased request which has not been reviewed by counsel and it is therefore exempt from disclosure under the FOIA pursuant to FOIA exemption (b)(5). Additionally, disclosure would impair federal tax administration (because we have not agreed that the advice contained within is correct) and therefore should be withheld pursuant to (b)(3) in conjunction with section 6103(e)(7)

Thanks-
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